Longer Jazz Festival stars more high-level artistes

The 13th edition of the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival will be longer than previous editions, spanning several autumn weekends.

Jean-René Palacio, artistic director of the SBM, said that the Festival will continue into December, as more artists have been booked for the popular annual season. The main focus of the Festival will be the Salle Garnier, although the Festival will open on October 27 with Gregory Porter and a Night of Blues at the Salle des Etoiles, providing a natural succession to the summer concerts.

The next day, Bobby McFerrin, of ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy,’ fame will head the bill, while on November 18 Russian pianist Denis Matsuev will be the guest of the festival, tackling an array of jazz standards.

Among the highlights of the festival will be the night of celebration on November 23 of the 130 years of the relationship between Monaco and New Orleans, birthplace of Princess Alice. “Rather than invite artists from New Orleans, we chose to give Stephane Sanseverino carte blanche to reinterpret the music of the region,” said Jean-René Palacio.

[caption id="attachment_31364" align="alignleft" width="239"] Naâman. Photo: Emma Birsk[/caption]
June 21 will once again be the occasion, as every year, to celebrate music in the Principality. The highlight of the event will be a large free concert on the Port of Monaco from 9 pm with a young artist from the French reggae scene, Naâman.
In three albums, the young singer has appropriated the essence of Jamaican music and added a touch of modernity that has established him as one of the French leaders of the genre.
His successive tours made him known in France and Europe on stage at the biggest reggae festivals – including the 2015 Francofolies – and also internationally with concerts all over the world, from Canada to China, through Jamaica, India, and Lebanon.
Opening the free concert will be Scars, who will welcome the public to this warm and colourful evening in Port Hercules.

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[caption id="attachment_24740" align="alignnone" width="900"] Ambroisine Bré, Mezzo Soprano and Qiaochu Li, pianist. Photo: DR[/caption]
On October 29, HE Claude Cottalorda, Ambassador of the Principality of Monaco in France, accompanied by his wife, represented Prince Albert at the finals of the ninth Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition, which is held in the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris.
The competition took place over three days and brought together 33 duos of 17 different nationalities. Each of the six finalist teams presented a programme that included a "Sonnet" by Benoît Mernier, a piece composed especially for this ninth edition and a melody by Lili or Nadia Boulanger
This year, the Duo Chant-Piano Grand Prix, Monaco's Rainier III Prize of €12,000, awarded with the support of the Sovereign Prince, was awarded to the French mezzo-soprano, Ambroisine Bré, 29, and Chinese pianist Qiaochu Li, 28. The duo also received a Special Mention for the best interpretation of "Sonnet".
The German Lied Prize (€6,000) honoured soprano Sophia Burgos and pianist Daniel Gerzenberg and the Prix de Mélodie, the French song prize (€6,000) soprano Marie-Laure Garnier and pianist Cécilia Oneto-Bensaid.
The Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition is a springboard for the career of these young musicians, opening the doors to various festivals in France and abroad.